Recommended Places to Visit: Sturbridge

Recreation

Beaches

Streeter Point Recreation Area
End of Old Streeter Road

Cedar Pond Recreation Area
2 Cedar Pond Road

Water Bodies

Big Alum Lake
End of Clark Road

Pistol Pond
310 Charlton Road

Long Pond
37 Champeaux Road

Museums
Old Sturbridge Village
1 Old Sturbridge Village Road


Breweries
Hyland Orchard and Brewery
199 Arnold Road

Pioneer Brewing Company
195 Arnold Road


Hiking
Wells State Park
End of Wells State Park Road

Architecture

Schools

Tantasqua Regional High School
319 Brookfield Road

Town Facilities
Joshua Hyde Public Library
306 Main Street

Town Hall
308 Main Street

Places of Worship

Federated Church of Sturbridge
8 Maple Street

St. Anne's and St. Patrick's Church
16 Church Street


Dams
East Brimfield Lake Dam
24 Riverview Avenue


Historical Buildings
Blackington Building
572 Main Street

Restaurants

Highly Recommended:
Italian
Rovezzi's Ristorante

2 School Street

Recommended Dishes:

Carpaccio

Mushroom Bisque

Gamberi con Linguini Fresca

Avellino
502 Main Street
Recommended Dishes:
Risotto con Funghi


Western
Veritas
420 Main Street
Recommended Dishes:
Escargot
Sauerbraten
Cream Suchard

The Duck
502 Main Street
Recommended Dishes:
Duck Quesadilla

Cedar Street Grille
12 Cedar Street
Recommended Dishes:
Crazy Dates
Pork Belly
Pumpkin and Sausage Mac and Cheese
Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Tart

Japanese

Kaizen Sushi Bar and Grill
479 Main Street

Tried:
Desserts
Sturbridge Coffee House
453 Main Street
Recommended Dishes:
Blueberry Muffintop
Orange Blossom Muffintop
Tiramisu Cupcake
Chocolate Mint Cupcake


Western

Oliver Wight Tavern
~1 Old Sturbridge Village Road at Old Sturbridge Village

BT's Smokehouse
392 Main Street

Recommended Dishes:

The Platter

December 1st 2013: Sightseeing in the Fog

Today, despite the gloomy weather, I decided to head out to do some sightseeing. Not having any specific plans, I decided to head out west this time, visiting Paxton

Kettle Brook Reservoir #4,
Reservoir Drive near Pleasant Street

Illig's Pond, 19 West Street

and a few places in Spencer, including the Sugden Reservoir Dam, which I visited in the dark the last time I was here.

Sugden Reservoir

O'Gara Park, 95 Valley Street

Muzzy Lake,
Maple Street and Adams Street

Vietnam Memorial Park,
80 South Spencer Road

I also visited the Luther Hill Park, located at the end of Park Street, which has a pretty decent beach and a disc golf course. Unfortunately, it is only open to Spencer residents.

before deciding to hike a little at the Spencer State Forest. The paths I took to view the water bodies here is shown below in pink.

I tried to find the water body to the right at first, but ended up getting lost and heading back to my starting point. I gave up at this point, and decided to view a little more of Howe Pond. Here are some pictures I took while I was here.

From here, I headed into the town of Charlton to visit some water bodies.

Railroad Pond,
New Spencer Road and Old Spencer Road

Wee Laddie Pond, 65 Gould Road

Little Nugget Lake, 69 Nugget Drive

Hultered Pond, 57 Northside Road

Finally, I decided it was time for some brunch at Fedele's Coffee Shop and Restaurant, a small town breakfast place at 13 Central Street in the town of Southbridge.

After looking at the menu, I decided to get a cup of Hot Chocolate, the Steak and Eggs, and a side of Corned Beef Hash and Kielbasa.

Hot Chocolate

Steak and Eggs

Kielbasa and Corned Beef Hash

The food was actually really good, especially the meats, and I surprised myself by finishing everything I got. I surprised the restaurant owners as well.

After lunch, I visited a few places in Southbridge,

The Arc

Carpenter Pond,
Snow Street and Martin Street

then headed into Sturbridge for a bit

Cedar Pond Recreation Area

Pistol Pond, 310 Charlton Road

Long Pond, 37 Champeaux Road

before finally calling it a day for hiking. From here, I decided to try the Cedar Street Grille in town for dinner. This place actually looks pretty upscale, and the menu was pretty interesting as well.

For food, I decided to get mostly appetizers, namely the Pork Belly (crispy fried pork belly, apple & beet puree, maple drizzle), the Crazy Dates (stuffed dates, bacon, goat cheese) and the Pumpkin and Sausage Mac and Cheese.

Pork Belly

Crazy Dates

Pumpkin and Sausage Mac and Cheese

All the dishes were very well presented. Both the pork belly and dates were scrumptious, but the most amazing of all was actually the Mac and Cheese. I never knew pumpkin could go so well with it.

That was not the end of it though. For dessert, I decided to get the Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Tart (Coffee Bean Creme anglais, fresh whipped cream).

Its not like the overly sweet pecan pie I am so used to loving, but the tart was still good.

Overall, this is definitely the best restaurant I have been to in Sturbridge to date, hands down. A definite must try for anyone in town, especially if you are stopping by on the way back from a car ride to NYC. I should have come here yesterday.

November 30th 2013: Dinner at Avellino and The Duck, Sturbridge

After managing to make it back to Massachusetts from NYC, where I had a lot of fun, with my friends, I decided to stop by Sturbridge for dinner at the Whistling Swan, a historical place containing 2 restaurants, namely Avellino, a pretty upscale Italian restaurant, and The Duck, a bar restaurant. I was informed that by eating at the central bar, I would be able to try both places at the same time, so I decided to do just that. Not feeling too hungry, I decided to get the Risotto con Funghi (arborio rice with wild mushrooms, truffle cream, parmesan cheese) from the Avellino side, and the Duck Quesadilla (confit rohan duck, smoked gouda, pear salsa, aji sour cream) from the Duck side.

The place also comes with a jar of crackers for starters.

Starters

Risotto con Funghi

Duck Quesadilla

To my disappointment, the cheese in the risotto was a little too strong, while the quesadilla was a little plain as well. At the same time, I suddenly felt extremely exhausted.

Not a good dining experience overall, but I would still give this place the benefit of the doubt, given its popularity. I'm just glad I got home safely today.

April 3rd 2013: Dinner at Amoroso's Ristorante and Lounge, Palmer

Today after work, I decided to go have dinner at Amoroso's Ristorante and Lounge at 2048 Main Street in the small town of Palmer, passing by the towns of Charlton,

Charlton Sewing Center

Charlton City United Methodist Church

Charlton Baptist Church

The Overlook at Charlton

Sturbridge to visit the St. Anne Shrine, which had many statues and monuments that I missed out on the last time I was here,

St. Anne's Church

The Stations of the Cross Entrance at St. Anne's Shrine

Jesus is Condemned to Death

Jesus Accepts His Cross

Jesus Falls for the first time

Jesus Meets His Sorrowful Mother

Simon Helps Jesus Carry His Cross

Veronica Wipes The Face of Jesus

Jesus Falls the Second Time

\

Jesus Speaks to the Weeping Women

Jesus Falls the Third Time

Jesus is Stripped of His Garments

Jesus is Nailed to the Cross

Jesus Dies on the Cross

Jesus is Taken Down from the Cross

Jesus is Laid in His Tomb

La Pieta

Shrine for Fatima

St. Anne's Shrine

Holy Stairs

St. Augustine

Shrine for St. Joan of Arc

Holy Family Shrine

the Holland Elementary School and Holland Congregational Church in Holland,

Holland Elementary School

Holland Congregational Church

and the Friendship Baptist Church in Brimfield along the way.

Friendship Baptist Church

East Brimfield Lake

I also visited the 2nd Congregational Church in Palmer when I reached the town.

After reaching the restaurant, a family style sort of restaurant, I decided to get the Chicken Fingers coated with Sweet Chilli Sauce, the Tortellini Soup, and the Veal Marsala (Veal strips and mushrooms cooked in marsala wine, topped with grated parmesan cheese).

Tortellini soup

Side Salad

Sweet Chilli Chicken Fingers

Veal Marsala

The Tortellini soup was not too bad, and this is one of the few times that I actually liked the chicken fingers, being really crispy and flavorful with the sauce. The pasta, however, was just all wrong. The veal was less than cooked and tasted funky, being a little sour, but hopefully it was just the sauce. Anyway, the pasta kinda ruined my appetite, and I took the leftovers home for the day. Unfortunately, I have to say this is not a place I will come back to in future.